I’ve talked a lot about time here – from my go-to time hacks to how fast it flies. So, when our blog squad suggested we share our secrets to getting it all done – our best time management skills – I had to think hard about what other insights I could share.
After some reflection, here’s what I came up with – and, be sure to check out fantastic time management tips from Caitlin, Christine, Elizabeth, Hailey, Jen, Laurel and Lizzie.
prioritize
Overall, I think what it comes down to are identifying your priorities and knowing you won’t get it all done – and, being ok with that. There just isn’t enough time in the day to read for an hour, really listen to that podcast, knit that scarf, complete two training sessions, sleep eight hours, walk the dog 3x, work eight hours, cook a Whole30 dinner and vacuum the house. But, you can pick a few of those things to cross of your to-do and move the others to another day when you have more time.
As a type A, I used to try cram it all in, but that always ended poorly and made me feel pretty bad about myself. It’s still a work in progress, but I’m learning to let it go – to be ok with the mess and the undone – and to be kinder to myself.
say no
I say no – a lot. To happy hours, to Saturday afternoon coffees, to a spick + span KonMari-ed house. I feel bad, but sometimes saying yes makes me feel worse and anxious because there are a bazillion other higher priority things I need to get done. That said, saying no makes room to say really big yeses for the things I want to do and to the things that really light me up.
just DO
This may be my most powerful time hack, if you can call it one. There really is no big secret, but rather just doing the work, whatever that work is (training, getting groceries, those Target + Costco runs, getting gas when it’s -5F, etc.). When I know something needs to get done, I don’t give myself another option. I just do it. One example: Saturday’s swim. As much as I didn’t want to get up at 6a to drive halfway across the city to masters, I rolled out of bed, had a cup of coffee and did it. Because the alternative – swimming solo at Life Time – wasn’t an option.
1 Comment
To add to your prioritise point: some of the things you plan on doing might not get done because you might not be ready for them yet. This was me last night, stressed about not getting some teaching plans done for the term, then realising I don’t have enough information on my students to formulate this plan. So I’m doing more initial assessments to inform my next steps. Not everything that needs to get done is like this, but some to-do items require a), b) and c) to be done first. Writing a to-do list also helps me so I don’t go into stressed ADHD mind.